Hostess Twinkies company throws in towel

Saturday

Nov 17, 2012 at 2:00 AM

TOWN OF MONTGOMERY — The men in the Hostess distribution center Friday didn't act like they had just been told their jobs no longer exist and that they had to remove their personal effects from their Drake's and Wonder Bread trucks.

Jessica DiNapoli

TOWN OF MONTGOMERY — The men in the Hostess distribution center Friday didn't act like they had just been told their jobs no longer exist and that they had to remove their personal effects from their Drake's and Wonder Bread trucks.

The salesmen, who had just returned to the warehouse after making their last Twinkie and bread deliveries, joked about their jobs. They didn't want to leave the warehouse, still half-stocked with treats like Sno Balls and Holiday Fruitcake.

But most of the salesmen and mechanics are going into the holiday season without a steady job. Hostess filed a motion to liquidate Friday with U.S. Bankruptcy Court after striking workers across the country crippled its ability to maintain production.

Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than three years. Unlike many of its competitors, the company had been saddled with high pension, wage and medical costs related to its unionized workforce.

Many Hostess employees represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike last week after rejecting a contract offer that slashed wages and benefits. The bakers union represents about 30 percent of the company's workforce.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 550, based on Long Island, represents most of the three dozen workers in Montgomery. The Montgomery distribution center delivered Hostess snacks to convenience stores and supermarkets from Westchester to Sullivan County.

The Teamsters local approved the same contract the bakers rejected, said Mike Spinelli, the secretary-treasurer of Local 550.

Larry Connors, the Teamsters shop steward in Montgomery, was unhappy that the bakers union's decision to strike cost 18,500 people their jobs. He has worked for Hostess for almost 30 years, starting in the Bronx.

A new jobless reality would likely set in Saturday morning, said Hostess employee John Sanfilippo. Sanfilippo, who grew up on Twinkies and Chocodiles, was unemployed for nine months before he found a job with Hostess two years ago.

Teamsters recommends its members let go by Hostess file for unemployment immediately.

Tom Shafer thought all week that his job was safe. He hopes the Drake's brand mascot — a duck named Webster — will eventually save him. Drake's brands are well known, and could be bought by another company, he said.

Hostess CEO Greg Rayburn said that there has been interest in some of the company's 30 brands, which include Dolly Madison and Nature's Pride. Experts agreed the biggest brands are more likely to survive.

Connors used to make about $80,000 per year as a Hostess salesman, but has seen his salary shrink to the mid-$60,000s through union concessions that were supposed to keep the company going. Connors, a self-described "staunch Teamster" regrets bending to Hostess' demands and recalled his idol, Jimmy Hoffa.

"He said 'Never give back," Connors said. "I did, and it didn't get us anywhere."